Getting to Ravenna, et cetera.
Another testament to Italian Organization - the Trenitalia web-site offers little assistance when trying to find out train routes, schedules and fares. It was pretty much a case of just “go and see” for myself. I knew the schedule to get to Napoli, but after that, I had no idea. I didn’t even know precisely where I was going!
When I got to Napoli I bought a 2nd class ticket to Ravenna, changing trains in Bologna. From Ravenna I decided that I would shoot for Bagnacavallo, since it is a short distance from Ravenna and accommodation is more affordable by half. (Does that make sense?)
It took me a while to figure out the whole train ticket thing, but after a few relocations on the Napoli-Bologna train, I managed to finally get myself in the correct seat. What 55 euros (C$93) gets you is a non-reclining seat in a compartment with 5 others, no leg room, and an unusable WC. I mean REALLY unusable. Luckily I managed to find the WC in the station in Napoli (C$1.35, please) before boarding for Bologna, in the nick of time before departure! It was a boring 6 hours haul. At least the Bologna to Ravenna train was clean and smooth and cheap. And I was lucky enough to sit across from a local who spoke pretty good English, and he gave me lots of tips and info about Ravenna. It turns out that Bagnacavallo is 3 stops before Ravenna so that worked out well for me.
I didn’t have a reservation for any accommodation that night, because I didn’t actually know where I was going to end up, due to the lack of information about trains schedules. I had the address to the Ostello in Bagnacavallo though, and I knew that it is within walking distance from the station. Again, Italians to the rescue - I was pointed in the right direction and found that there was still room at the Inn. A three bed dorm to myself.
It is a former convent. The room is about 20’X 22’ with a 20’ ceiling. Rather spacious. No internet, though. In fact the whole town of Bagnacavallo is pretty much lacking internet access. I found the library, and in an effort to make hostel reservations for Venice, the best I could do was to check out 2 possibilities in the space of ONE HOUR, such was the speed of the connection. And then the library closed. After all, it was 12:30 on Saturday afternoon! The Internet Point/Copy Centre in the town’s main piazza was also closed. Saturday is just not a day to try to get anything done here, apparently. I was able to convince the receptionist at the hostel to let me use the computer to make my booking. Their modem has capacity for only one computer, so I couldn’t just plug in my own and go to it.
Meanwhile, I spent a rainy, wet and cold day in Ravenna, a very small city famous for its mosaics. Indeed the mosaics are a sight to behold and they can be viewed in various churches and baptisteries throughout the town centre. True to the Italian reputation for being poorly organized, I found that the tourist map I was using was completely useless. This is a prevalent problem regarding Italian tourist information - basically the maps are PATHETIC. Which can also be said for the signage, so in fact you get a complimentary arrangement which creates havoc for poor tourists, like me! Anyway, after finally stumbling into a tourist information office, I was given a better map and some directions to get started with my exploring of Ravenna. The weather was only getting worse (a good descriptive would be: atrocious), and it put a real damper on my enthusiasm, however I soldiered on. By noon my shoes were completely soaked, squish-squish with each step. Ugh. And of course the umbrella I bought off the street vendor quickly turned itself inside out and started to come apart within an hour of purchase.
I’m quite certain that Ravenna is a beautiful city when the sun is shining, or at least when it is not subjected to constant, all day rain. However, my day there was not a good picture taking day, and it was spent constantly on the move, seeking shelter in cold, dank, dark churches with unbelievably beautiful mosaic depictions of important Christian events and figures (Jesus, for example). These mosaics are of such fine quality that they in fact look like paintings, such is the attention to minute detail in their renderings.
IN ITALY THINGS ARE EXPENSIVE. Just about every thing, I mean. For example, if you want to use the toilet before getting on a train at the train station - that will cost you about C$1.35. A package of Halls throat lozenges will set you back as much as about C$3.30. If you want to sit down in a restaurant or café to have a cuppa, well you better think twice, ‘cause a pot of tea will ring in at over C$8.00. So, as far as food and beverages go, you don’t sit down to relax for a bite, because table service can double your bill. So, by the end of a day of marching around and never getting a chance to really take a load off your feet, well, lets just say a nice glass of wine or two in the hostel room sounds pretty fine!
PIZZA: It is omnipresent and rules supreme. As mentioned already, it is really hard to avoid, but it can be done. Actually, in the north it isn’t quite as dominant as in central Italy - they have some slightly different variations on the theme, using a different type of dough, and so on. But when you get right down to it, it is still dough with stuff on it or in it. Having said that, however, I discovered out of sheer desperation for some supper the night that I arrived in Bagnacavallo, “Jolly Pizza”, just a stones throw from where I’m staying. “Jolly Pizza” - I figured, “oh, oh. Please God...” It’s fair to say that is the BEST pizza that I have had in Italy so far. It is not thin crust pizza, gals! Not Chicago style, either. Thin sauce, thin cheese and thin toppings - like radicchio. AND it turns out that Leonardo, the pizza maestro, is an AVID mushroom picker, having photos of some of his exploits on his shop walls. So we got to talking, mostly with the assistance of his wife who is Ukrainian, but speaks a good bit of English. They offered me to come back on Sunday to taste mushrooms and pasta - an offer I can’t refuse! Also offered me the chance to go picking with him on Tuesday, but alas I will be gone from Bagnacavallo by then. Nice, nice folks.
With the help of one of the staffers at the Ostello I have been able to use the internet to check the train schedules for Venice. I will leave in the morning and thereby get myself to my gateway to Eastern Europe - Venice, the most expensive city in Italy.
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